I have a friend who wants to buy a very lightweight (<3-4lbs), 3 season tent on a very strict budget (less than $100). Aside from going used via the gear swap forum here, or geartrade, or craigslist, can anyone suggest a decent new tent in this price range?

I posted about a cheap tent awhile ago: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=44887

It's served me well and could work for your friend if he's not too tall. You really can't get much cheaper than it too. There's also the Wenzel Starlight Backpacker Tent at Wal-Mart, which according to BPL weighs 2.8 lbs (http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lightweight_backpacking_wal-mart_style.html)

Your friend could also go the blue tarp and bug netting route. That would probably be pretty cheap and light.

Thats a tough call. If price is the only consideration, there are tons of options. Does he want a full on tent with poles or would a tarp or tarptent be ok? If he can scrape together $125, the SMD Scout would be great, and Bear Paw WD has some shaped tarps for $110. If he wants a full on tent, REI Outlet and Backcountry.com would be places to start. You can usually find Alps Mountaineering tents for great prices. They are quality tents, but not UL.

I'd recommend either of the ALPS Mountaineering lightweight one man tents -- the Mystique or the Zephyr. Both are less than 4 lbs and are readily available for less than $100. Amazon has them for $76 and $90, respectively, with free shipping. You can often find them cheaper on places like Sierra Trading Post.

They aren't ultralight, but from everything I've read, and from my experience with ALPS products, either one should be solid and last a long time -- a notch or two up in quality from the Texsport/Wentzel/Coleman single man tents that you can find in the $30 range.

The Eureka Spitfire (I think someone else may have mentioned) is also a solid choice, and a little lighter, at ~3lbs, and a similar cost of $90.

Of course, my ultimate recommendation would be to watch for a great sale, something on geartrade, or something on these forums. I know you were looking for other options, but in my experience, those are still the best places to go for a great deal.

I really like the Eureka Spitfire 1 for one person. It can be found for under $100 if you shop around. I actually prefer it over some models costing 3 or 4 times that much. The two person version is a bit more though.

If he is near an REI, be patient and wait for their garage sales...I am starting to take my daughters out, so wanted a reasonably lightweight 3-person tent, scored a REI Quarterdome T3-Plus for $92 with a broken zipper that I fixed before I took it home. I passed on a BA Fly Creek UL2 that I could have had for $99 (kicking myself!), I really wanted it but it was not a good fit for my needs. It had two small tears in the stuff sack, was otherwise perfect.

While the Wenzel is relatively light, it is a cramped tunnel, and that might not be the best experience. I have used these as solo shelters on trips I have led over the last 5 years, and they are simply not waterproof.

Water resistant is probably a stretch as well. We've adapted, and the price is certainly right, but by the time an additional tarp/ poncho adds in for real rain protection, it isn't so light anymore.

Seems like about a year ago there was a "Superultralight/ Superultracheap" article on here somewhere.

You could always make your own tarp shelter or trailstar -check out the Quest Bilgy tent.

Less than 1 pound, less than $100 (depending on whether you go with just a headnet or a full bug bivy type of thing). Enough room to sleep 4+ people, able to cook in the rain, nice views sometimes, and you can pitch it anywhere!

I picked up a Mountain Hardware Sprite 1 for $89 on clearance last year at REI and it looks like it can be had for about $120 online. It weighs 3 lbs as a tent or 2 lbs 5 oz in the fly/footprint set up.

I will be the third person on this thread to recommend the spitfire 1. Nice little tent for the money and fairly light as well. Also will take a lot of abuse. Hard to beat this little tent for the money. Usually can be found for around 100.00.